Candice Bergen Biography

Candice Bergen (born on May 9, 1946) is an American
actress and former fashion model, best known for her starring
role on the television situation comedy Murphy Brown.

Biography

Candice Bergen was born in Beverly Hills, California, the
daughter of Frances Westerman and radio ventriloquist Edgar
Bergen. Candice Bergen's paternal grandparents, Johan Henriksson
Berggren and Nilla Svensdotter Osberg, were Swedish-born
immigrants who Anglicized their surname. As a child Candice was
often referred to as "Charlie McCarthy's Little Sister", which
irritated her (Charlie McCarthy being one of her father's
dummies).

Candice has written articles, a play, and a memoir. She has also
studied photography and worked as a photojournalist. Considered
one of Hollywood's most beautiful women, Candice worked as a
fashion model but soon began acting. Despite initial rocky
reviews, Candice Bergen appeared in such films as Carnal
Knowledge and Starting Over, for which she received Oscar and
Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress.

Bergen was the first female guest host on Saturday Night Live.
On Murphy Brown she played a tough television reporter. Although
the show was a successful comedy, it tackled important issues:
Murphy Brown, a recovering alcoholic, became a single mother and
later battled breast cancer. In 1992, then Vice President Dan
Quayle criticized the Murphy Brown character for bearing a child
while unmarried. While his remarks became comedic fodder, they
paved the way for a subsequent episode to explore the subject of
family values within a diverse set of families. Remaining true
to the show's humor, Murphy arranges for a truckload of potatoes
to be dumped in front of Quayle's residence (a reference to an
incident in which Quayle spelled the word "potato" with an e, as
"potatoe", an archaic spelling).

After Murphy Brown, Bergen hosted "Exhale with Candice Bergen"
on the Oxygen network. Candice Bergen also appeared in character
roles in films, most notably Miss Congeniality as the
sweet-yet-demented pageant host Kathy Morningside, and portrayed
the mayor of New York in Sweet Home Alabama. In 2003 she
appeared in the movie View from the Top. In January 2005, Bergen
joined the cast of Boston Legal as Shirley Schmidt, a founding
partner in the law firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. She has also
done guest appearances on many TV shows, including Family Guy,
Will and Grace and S-- and the City, where she played Enid,
Carrie Bradshaw's editor at Vogue.

Candice Bergen attended the University of Pennsylvania, but
acknowledges that her failure to take her education seriously
resulted in her being asked to leave. Bergen and then boyfriend
Terry Melcher lived at 10050 Cielo Drive, which was later
occupied by Sharon Tate and her husband, Roman Polanski. Tate
and four others were later murdered in the home. A political
activist, Bergen accepted a date with Henry Kissinger but was
unable to influence his views. In 1981, she married French film
director Louis Malle. They had a daughter, Chloe Malle, in 1985,
and remained married until his death by cancer in 1995.

Candice Bergen has traveled extensively, and speaks French
fluently. She is a vegetarian and is currently married to
Marshall Rose.

Candice Bergen is a sister of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Trivia

In the American sitcom Will and Grace, Candice is one of
Karen Walker (character)'s many enemies.